November 1, 2021.
When we toured Italy 2+ years ago with Classics Journeys our guide was Luciano N. He was an incredible guide and we had a great time. We kept in touch and became friends. We asked him if would come down and give us a tour of Rome, and he readily agreed. It was a long day for him, early train ride, a long tour, and a long train ride home. It was a fantastic day as you will see. We were tired at the end after 13,700 steps and 6+ miles of walking .But it was so much fun.
Italy has only been country since 1860 when all the city states merged into one country, The capital was originally in Florin, then Florence, and finally in Rome in 1876. As a country, Italy is 100 years younger than the United States. However, the history dates back many centuries before the United States was “discovered."
Our first stop was Piazza del Popolo (Peoples square). The church in the picture is Santa Maria de Popolo. It is 500 years old. This was the main gate into Rome. On the other side of the Piazza is an Egyptian obelisk that is 3,000 years old.
In older times there were public executions in the square, especially during carnival time. The victims were beaten with a hammer. The square was also the start of horse races. They ran down the street on the right for many blocks and then returned on the left street. The horses were drugged and otherwise tortured to get them to run fast. A horrible event!!
There is no scarcity of fountains in Rome. Here is one from the Piazza del Popolo.
A short walk away was the Spanish steps. The name is because of the Spanish embassy is directly opposite the steps. The church at the top of the steps is the Trinità dei Monti. The steps have been featured in many movies and TV shows. Roman Holiday starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck made the steps famous to American audiences. Of course there was a fountain in the Piazza—this one in the shape of a boat.
We saw more things as we continued walking. There are numerous churches throughout the city. November 1st is a holiday in Italy (All Saint’s Day) so there lots of folks on the street enjoying the day. Here are a couple of church pictures. We were in a many churches and they were all filled with incredible paintings, statues, painted ceilings, etc.
Luciano and Caroline. Luciano is either pointing out something to Caroline (most likely) or scolding her. LOL!!
After a short taxi ride and walk, we arrived at the restaurant that Luciano wanted to take us for lunch. It is called Tonnarello—it is very old (1870s) and very popular. We had about a 30 minute wait, but it was worth it. We ordered a Roman traditional dish—fried artichoke. It was very good. You could eat the leaves and the heart was delicious. We had tonnerallo (like thick spaghetti) with meatballs, lasagne, and tonnerallo with cheese and pepper (a Roman traditional dish). It was excellent.
We thought the restroom door sign was amusing.
After lunch we saw some 2,000 year old Roman ruins. The ruins had cats that the locals fed. Here are some pictures.
Our last stop was the Pantheon. It was originally a Roman temple. The dome is self-supporting and the design was the inspiration for the US Capitol building. It also inspired the dome at St. Peter’s. It eventually became a church. Currently it is “blessed” by the Catholic church, but is not a church and there are no masses. It houses the tomb of Raphael. The line was so long to get in that we decided to not go inside.
No trip to Rome would be complete without a trip to the Trevi Fountain. There were so many people that it was hard to get a good look at it. But at least you can see a couple of tourists.
The G20 tossed coins in the fountain at the end of their 2021 meeting in Rome.
It was great day!